On my way hommmeeee

Hey guys!! I am currently sitting at Edinburgh Airport on the computer writing my final blog - in Scotland. I am going to load the plane shortly and I can NOT WAIT to see my family and everyone!!!! Love you guys!!! Thanks for following and I will write again when I am sitting in my room back in good ol' Pixburgggggghh!!! =]

- Natalie

I Have A Lot Of Catching Up To Do..... AAyyyeee!!

Wow. So I have a lot of writing to do. Let's see, where do I start?? Thursday I believe.... so we woke up and headed to Scone Palace - the castle where they crown the kings and queens. I absolutely loved it! It was seriously so beautiful! You could pay for a tour of the outside or a tour of both outside and inside. Jill, Emily, Aly, Deanna and I figured "what the heck" and bought the outdoor and indoor one. It was extremely breath-taking. The artwork beyond the front doors was beautifully crafted. I wanted to take pictures more than anything but we were not allowed. =[ So then I attempted to find a pamphlet with pictures on it but nothing was found. Ughh! I guess I will always just have to remember what it looked like. There were peacocks just roaming about the "car park" - aka parking lot. Very beautiful.

We then went to the studio to finish up the artwork and get the gallery ready for Friday's exhibition. Christiana and Joe took us to a pub to eat dinner, and then we headed to The Loft again. So much fun!!! =]

Friday was exhibition day. I woke up sooooo nervous. We changed out display last minute and I ended up loving it!!! One of the ladies that works at the college talked to me for about 10 minutes explaining how much she liked it. At one point she made me feel really good because she was speechless. Haha. She was very cute! Deanna and I also met this girl who told us her interpretation of our artwork. It was very lovely. She had told us that the foam background had looked like a cement wall, and the nails read as all the hurt they had gone through in their life, the mirrors were there to reflect on the experiences, the melted wax had given a feel of blood, and the zip ties that held the face together had given her the impression that they were held together now, but with one snap it could all fall apart. How deep is that?? We got chills and made her tell like everyone haha.

All in all yesterday went very well and it was very rewarding. =] We went to Paco's for dinner and it was delicious!!!

- Sorry everyone for slacking on my blogging... today is a free day and we are going to the waterfall behind our house. =] We also have to pack.. ughh! Then Edinburgh for Sunday and I fly back home Monday. I don't know if I will write another blog between now and then, but if I do... don't expect anything great. Thanks for following and I miss you all!!

- have a great day in HOT HOT Pittsburgh!

Natalie

P.s. We say goodbye to Christiana and Joe today.... =[ I will cry. They are some of the best people I have ever met.

Finished!

Soooo... Deanna and I finished our project today!!! Our theme fell through and we had a very challenging artistic day. I reflected a lot on my artistic style. I tend to want everything to look real and be very understandable. This may be partly because I want the people I love to be able to love and respect my art too. Although, I realize even more on this trip how much I would love to stray away from my safe side and make crazy, yet interesting art.

After realizing how much we had strayed from the "trashing the earth" theme, Deanna and I sat in front of the project, completely wiped out, trying to think of ways to make it work again. I, of course, wanted to find meaning and safeness in the project. After talking to Steve and others, we realized that a theme really isn't needed. When you have such a broad subject, such as our neutral looking face, anyone can put a theme to your own artwork. We then decided, what the heck, and melted wax and dripped it down the left side of the face. We played around with displaying it and found that it is still creepy and interesting, it just doesn't have a theme. I am so scared that when people come from the public on Friday, that no one will either understand it or like it. I really hope that people will be able to respect our piece for what it is and be able to see the use of the plastic to create something totally different from everything else displayed.

Yesterday I didn't feel like blogging so here it is. The group went to Arbroath to go canyoneering. It is a beach activity where you wear wetsuits and swim and walk about the canyons of the shore. I woke up not feeling too great though, and considering the water temperatures, I decided to sit out on the activity. I somewhat regret that decision because it looked like a lot of fun, but I got to walk along the cliffs above everybody with Joe, Deanna, and Andrew. Since we were not in the water, it was a perfect opportunity to get awesome pictures and videos of the beautiful beaches. Pictures can not even help show you just how beautiful it really was. Just picture climbing about the cliffs, bright blue-green grasses around you, sounds of the beach, beautiful flowers, and crashing waves surrounding you. It was truly serene, breath-taking, and a photographers dream.

After the water activity, we met this old Scottish couple who expressed how bored they were that day. They were on holiday and had nothing fun to do so they invited us all to their house for tea. Feeling somewhat strange, because no one back at home does that, we all joked around on the ride there telling everyone to look out for each other. Turns out though that they really were just very nice people looking for some company. They have 6 kids who are all on their own so having ten people over for company felt comforting to them.

After visiting them, we went into town for dinner. Arbroath is known for their smoked fish so of course we had to test it out. From someone who doesn't particularly favor fish, I loved it! MMmmmm! It was so good. Although I didn't buy any, thinking that the restaurant we were going to was going to taste just as good.... unfortunately, it did not. =/ Oh well.

An hour in the van and we were back home. Of course, Deanna and I were the first in bed as always. Traveling and taking class and everything else in between really wipes you out. Hahaha.

Well..... that was my last two days. We have a very exciting few days ahead of us to wrap up our trip. Tomorrow we are visiting Scone Palace, Friday is our exhibition, Saturday is our free day to roam about the woods behind us, Sunday we venture to Edinburgh to (hopefully do the underground tour that I'm dying to do) and then Monday we leave from Edinburgh Airport to come back hoommmmeeee. Time flew!!!!!!

Thanks for following and I still miss you all! =]

Cheers!

-Natalie

GREEN BEANS!

Ummm, I have no idea where to start today... I guess I will start with Saturday.

We woke up early to leave the house by 9 to travel to Inverness. It was only about a 2 hour drive but we stopped at a couple different places on the way which caused us to get to Inverness at about 5 pm. The first place we stopped was The Highland Folk Museum. It was very different from anything I have ever been to. It was an outdoor walkway that was about a mile long in all. Throughout the walk there were different things to look at such as old farm equipment, shops, and houses from during WWII. There was also a part showing houses and how they lived 300 years ago. The lady who gave the tour was funny and seemed a little bored with her job that day. Haha. We then traveled to Culloden Battlefield, where the last war was held. It began as Scotland vs. England but then turned into a civil war. We did not pay for the museum but we went out and walked the battlefield. After the battlefield, we drove to Inverness and stayed at the Highlander Hostel. When we walked in, there was a huge circular staircase painted blue and yellow. We then experienced being whistled at by a group of men. It was very creepy and I ran to our room. Hahaha.

The Hostel was actually very nice. The room was funny tho, it was very small and had 5 bunk beds in it. So there were 10 of us squished in a little tiny room with one toilet, one shower, and a ceiling fan.

http://www.highlanderhostel.com/gallery.html

After we all got situated, we all got ready and went out for the night. A group of the girls went to Bar 27 to eat dinner and get a few drinks. Dinner was superb! I also had a Raspberry Twist Cocktail that was delicious. Following dinner, we stopped in a pub that was far too uncomfortable for me. We were surrounded by drunken men who were going crazy. One man who I will never forget was a creepy Scottish man who proceeded to follow us and at one point he stopped in the middle of the floor and continually spanked himself. I was thoroughly disgusted and completely ready to leave. The place was getting more and more crowded by the second. We did not stay very long, due to the high levels of uncomfort. We continued to walk the streets of Inverness until we found a pub by the name of Gunsmith. There was two levels and karaoke on the top floor. Of course, we did do karaoke.

After spending time at the pub, we met these two local Scottish guys who helped us find places to go. Anxious to experience a dance club, I convinced the group to head to a place called Love To Love to dance. We waited outside in the line just to eventually get rejected. Everyone in front of me got in and of course I was the last in the group to get checked and they denied me for "wearing Nikes". I was so angry!!!! - For those who know me, you are probably wondering why I, of all people, was wearing tennis shoes out. I thought we were going to sight - see all weekend and not go out. Which is why I was wearing Nikes. Sorry group for getting us all denied!!!

We ran back to the other pub to finish the night and were almost denied again. Saturday nights, they stop accepting people in the pubs at midnight because of the Sabbath. When we reached the door, it was 11:59. Coryn used her charm and got us all in. =] We had about 15 minutes to get another drink in and leave for the night. - Pubs in Scotland close by 12:15am and all of the locals continue to be loud and gather outside on the streets until late morning hours. We heard all of them from our room window. For all of those people who told me to stop being loud because that is "American".... YOU LIED! SCOTTISH PEOPLE ARE LOUD!!!! Hahaha.

* Side note * : I totally met this guy who was the Scottish man version on me. He laughed at everything and his laugh was not only contagious but also loud, obnoxious, and overdone. Hahahahaa!!!!

Sunday morning (4th of July), we were out of the Hostel by 10am and on the road again. It was rainy and very cold. We drove to Loch Ness and SAW NESSIE!! hahaha!!! Andrew brought a little toy Nessie and had us all laughing. We all got pictures with him! On the left is the infamous picture of Andrew and Nessie creeping on the right hand side. =]

Hahahaha how funny?!

We then continued to travel to Urquhart Castle. The first picture in this blog a view of the castle from inside on part. It was very rainy and verrryyy windy there. Very beautiful though. At one part, a bagpipe group played for everyone there. As soon as they stepped out on the grass the sun came out and it was beyond beautiful for about 10 minutes. It then started to down pour and everyone ran back inside. Haha.

We theennnnn drove to Glencoe to sight - see and eat dinner. Dinner was excellent and very cozy. It looked like a cozy little lodge inside. After dinner, we took pictures of all the beautiful scenery. There were huge mountains with a gorgeous river running through it. The wind was blowing the long grass around very peacefully and it was nice to look at such nice scenery after driving in the van for soooo lonnngggg.

I slept the whole ride home and went to bed by 11 that night. I got a nice, long sleep last night to be refreshed and ready to work hard on my project today.

Soooo to transition into today, Deanna and I finished the face today!!! YAY!! =] He/she looks very nice! I wish so bad that I could ship it back to the U.S. because it is extremely impressive to look at in person. When looked at face on, it doesn't look like much but when viewing at an angle or especially the profile, it is amazing. The different clear bottles work with each other in an amazing way. It is very clear to see the face portrayed when viewing the profile. The way that the jaw was created, gives it the impression that it is also the mouth and it is frowning. Which helps us with the theme of our project. Our piece's value is to help the viewers realize that how we treat the earth is directly reflected upon ourselves. Therefore our face is not meant to be happy or beautiful. If completed correctly, our piece should look hurt and not so much ugly, but unpleasing to the eye. We are going to sparingly scatter pieces of mirror throughout the background so that when viewing the piece, the audience can understand that they are part of the reflection and part of the reason for our earth being trashed.

I am not going to post any pictures of them today, because I would like to show you all when I get the time to really capture the essence of our piece. I took a video in HD today of the finished face. I did this because I'm afraid that just pictures are not going to give off the same feel as if you are viewing it in person. I'm thinking that maybe the video will help show you more than what you see in still photos.

Well..... that is a lot of blogging for today. Thanks for following and I miss you all!

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

-Natalie

P.s. For those who did not see my status : I missed being home very much yesterday for fireworks and 4th of July activities. Cerrones and Kraemers: I missed downtown so much! I hope you guys all enjoyed the fireworks and I love you all. Petersons: I definitely missed seeing you all too! I missed the picnic and all the kids. I hope you all enjoyed the new swimming pool!

P.s.s HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT DEBBIE!!! =]

It's Still The Same Day, & My Allergies Are Still Bothering Me

Heyyy!! So I just wanted to write another blog to tell you that we are going on a trip this weekend to Inverness and I will not be able to blog. I want to wish you all a very happy and SAFE 4th of July. I am going to miss it soooooo much! Fireworks on the 4th are seriously one of my favorite things to do, especially with the whole family. Aunt Debbie & family... I am going to miss you guys a lot!! Say an extra " Ooohh and Ahhh" for me! hahaha. =[ I am seriously bummed I can't celebrate the 4th like a good old American. Pretty darn sure I won't see anything here.

So tonight was so much fun. We finally got to go shopping! It was such a high. I got my family such nice gifts and I'm excited to give them out! Miss you guys. I am going to post pictures on Facebook b/c this picture uploader takes way too long. We went to a beautiful spot today and everyone got such nice nice pictures!

--- Quick rant: I MISS MY.....

Pillow

Shower

Washer

Dryer

Straightener

Hair Dryer

Clean water

..... etc....

seriously.... I NEVER feel clean here. I feel like the water is dirty so it does'nt cleanse your body or clothes. & my pet peeve is SMELLING BAD! I'm Dying!!!

Okay.... I'm done. Thank you

Thanks for following... miss you still

Night!

-Natalie

It's Nearing The End of The 2nd Week, & MY ALLERGIES ARE KILLING ME!

I don't know where to start today. I didn't have time to write a blog yesterday so I guess I have to make that up.

First of all, yesterday was my 4 year anniversary to my wonderful boyfriend. So Brad, I love you and miss you very much!!! <3

Anyway, we woke up yesterday and headed to the studio early and worked until about 5. It was pretty successful other than not having enough drills to get the face completely done. =/ It was my day to cook dinner so I took one of my favorite(easiest) recipe from home - breaded chicken, mac-n-cheese, and corn. Mom . . . everyone LOVED it! =] Having being in a different country, supplies here are different. I had to adjust the whole recipe and I think I pulled it off. hahaa. We mixed two different kind of bread crumbs and then mixed some sun dried tomato and basil to give it some flavor. We messed up the {already crappy} mac-n-cheese by putting too much milk in.... but I think it was a lost cause from the beginning. - NOTE: Scottish mac-n-cheese SUCKS! So mom, to answer your comment from yesterday... dinner was a huge success!

Last night we went to "That Bar" and then headed upstairs to the club, "The Loft" for student night. It was only £1.00 to get in and £1.50 for each drink. Quite the deal! It was so much fun! I really wish we had something like that at home. As lame as it sounds, I felt like really old being there because the drinking age is 18 here and it felt like I skipped the year and was 21. The inside of the club was reaaaallllyyy neat. Although, Aly described it as being a scene for a bad porno. haha. The had like bench seating everywhere with little red lamps in the middle of the tables and a couple bars, dance floor, and a fog machine. Although the interior and the people were really nice. . . the music was beyond lame! Hahaha. First of all, it was like old music from like the late 90's and not that those songs are bad, because seriously, who doesn't enjoy good 90's music??? But it was like the kind that are IMPOSSIBLE to dance to. So... ya. But I think we all had so much fun even tho we had a nerdy curfew of midnight. hahaha.

http://www.loftclub.co.uk/

So today, right now, I am sitting in the studio. Today is the art workshop day so Steve is teaching a lecture to some Scottish students who were interested in what we do. Some of us are avoiding listening to the lecture and getting our computer fix in. haha. I don't really know what is on the agenda for today but we are going to stay here until about 3 p.m. and then who knows. I think Christiana mentioned something about maybe going shopping today, but who knows. That would be veryyyyy nice, but I think a lot of us are pooped out and she has been such a help lately she probably needs time off from us for awhile. Hahaa.

Julie - I've been taste testing a lot and so far my favorite beer is Stella Artois. I'm not sure where it is from, but it is really good. We (Deanna, Emily, Jill, & I) also split a thing of TVX Blue that was reallyyyyy good. It almost tasted like a blue freeze pop that is melted. A+ from me. **** Mom..... I am being careful and only drinking small amounts at a time! I promise!

Well, I am going to wrap this up.... Thanks for following and I miss you all!!

Good morning (to you guys)

-Natalie

P.s. like my title says, my allergies are killliiinnngggg mmeeee!!!! I actually can not wait to get my shots when I get home & for those who really know me.... I HATE MY SHOTS! haha. gahhh.

.... and yes mom..... I AM taking my meds! lol

P.s.s. - the weather here is supposedly always rainy and really bad. NOTE: it has only rained here 1 day and 2 nights. We brought good luck and good weather I guess!! It really has been lovely everyday here so far.

Another Day In The Lab

So today was anoth

er day in the art lab. Deanna and I progressed on our project and that picture is close to what we ended up with after a days worth of work. It is definitely coming along well. I feel bad because I have nothing else to talk about. We just worked..... all day. We got to meet two Scottis

h students from Perth College. They

were really nice and we might go to a club with them tomorrow night. =]

Sorry for the really boring blog tonight, hopefully tomorrows will be more interesting. Thanks for following and I miss you all! =]

- Natalie

P.s. That picture of me is horrible but that gives you a feel for how big the face is.

"Hey Kids, Have You Ever Heard of The United States of America?"

"Hey Kids, Have You Ever Heard of The United States of America?" - quote by Andrew Fecik, directed towards little, Scottish boys.

^Today while we were working in the lab, 3 little Scottish boys walked through the open door and were amazed by our plastic projects. Andrew then asked them that famous quoted question and we all died of laughter. He asked them as if they were either hard of hearing or slow. They thought our accent was funny sounding. Hahaha.

Today was much more successful than yesterday. Deanna and I finally thought of an idea and went with it. It is -hopefully - going to be very neat. Im going to try and add some pictures of it on here. Mind you... we only started it today.

We had grilled cheese for dinner tonight..... MMMMM!!! =] It was very yummy. Grilled cheese and tomato soup. =] We stop at TESCO (Scotland's Walmart) just about everyday. hahaha. We are all so sick of it.

Today was a long day. I'm going to try to load some pictures. Thanks for following and I miss you all! Thanks for all the inspiration yesterday, I think it's paying off!!!

Goodnight

-Natalie

- the beginning of our project. It is about a 21/2 foot face made from all clear plastic

- this picture here is of the chin, nose, and the start of the forehead.

Gahhhh

Today was pretty rough. We started the day in the lab and I was feeling very optimistic. I was ready to hit the ground running on my project. Not too long into it, I looked at Deanna and was like "Okay... NEW PROJECT!" I had like an awesome idea... or so I thought. I was feeling soooo creative and artistic. We started working and hit a block. We then both went brain dead after trying about 10 different approaches to our idea. ugghhhh.. it turned out to be a bad creative day. boo.

Anyway, we got back to the house and Christiana and Joe came over and they taught us a super fun card game. It's called golf. Anyway, if you know me, you know I'm bad at card games... and I CAME IN 3RD!! wooo!!! =] It was really fun tho. Everyone in this house definitely laughs sooo much.

Well, I had a long long day ahead of me tomorrow and I need to be on my game and start this project. Hopefully what we come up with is pure brilliance!.... Cross your fingers!!

Thanks for following and I miss you all!!!

1 week and 1 day down.... that's so crazy!!!

- It's dinnertime in Pa... so enjoy your dinner!! haha.
Natalie

p.s. HAPPY BIRTHDAY (yesterday) DEB!!!! MISS YA GIRL!!

p.s.s. love you mom! =] - your comments on facebook made me laugh

p.s.s.s Dad - I'm glad to see you got your account to work!!! love you too!

- and for those who are going to complain... i love you too.

Highland Games!!!

<--video of girls at the Highland Games Dancing Competition

So since I was too tired yesterday to write, I have to blog about it now. We woke up early to leave the house by 8am and drive 2 hours to Glasgow. The ride there was pretty awful.... a lot of us got tummy aches from the ride. Once we got to Glasgow, we met up with Christiana(Perth Professor) and her husband Joe(who is hilarious). They then took us to an art museum and then took a bus to the Highland Games. It was a double decker!!! =] So much fun!!

The Highland Games were different but yet the same as I expected them to be. It was almost like a carnival with the food tents and ride for kids. Then in the middle was the field where all the activities took place. I was really upset because the activity I was most excited for was the Tossing of the Cabers. My boyfriend, Brad, was watching an episode on the travel channel about them. The trick to the sport is that the men competing have to throw ginormous logs as straight as they can. If they can not pick them, they have to continue to cut them down until they can pick it up and toss them. Whoever is the first to pick it up successfully wins. Although, if there is a tie, the person who tossed it the straightest wins. Interesting, huh? hahaa

We then went into town where shopping is huge there. I felt like everyone that lives in Scotland must be from Glasgow, because we have never seen so many people until then. I am upset because I haven't seen any good places to souvenir shops and we FINALLY found the best store yesterday and it was closed!!!! It was only 6pm on a Saturday! How lame is that?? Grrrr

Anyway, today is another relaxing day. Nothing set to do so we are just hanging around the house. I loaded some pictures on facebook for everyone to see. I load a few everyday because the internet is slow here.

I hope everything is going well back and home and I miss you all! Can't wait to tell everyone about the stories.

Thanks for following.... write a comment!!! =]

Good day!

-Natalie

^^^ These pics are Emily Kuzar's! Haha. I didnt feel like uploading my own. Thanks Em!

IM TIRED

IM TOO TIRED, IM WRITING ONE TOMORROW. GOODNIGHT.

Whoa!! A Huge Connect Four!!!!!

To start off the blog today, I would like to say that we are currently playing with this huge connect four exactly like the picture to the left. hahaha. We are all acting like little kids and getting so excited. You should have seen our faces when Andrew dug it out of the closet and brought it to the family room. It was like we hit the jackpot of all games. hahaa. Its about 4x4 feet. AWESOME!!

Today we started our projects... Deanna and I are doing a joint project and it's coming along quite well.... for now. =] I will try to post pictures but it will not be understandable until completely finished and done exactly correct. Pressure is on!!! It is going to be quite the challenge.... for sure. Bring it on!!! =]

Oh!!! Yesterday, Emily and Jill found a nice hand dryer in one of the bathrooms.... we discovered that it works perfectly as a hair dryer!!!! We now do not need to buy any Scottish hairdryer. Good job girls!!!! - used it tonight and I'm lookin' quite "fresh" hahaha. ( "fresh" is one of the words in our slang cards game Erin brought. Everyday we pick a card and we have to use it at least once a day. so funny. today was "lates", used like "later guys!". the other day it was "what it do?", used like "what's up?". hahhaa. it keeps our days that much more interesting)

There really isn't much to write about today. This trip is so much fun. We all get along really well and half the things that come out our mouths just keep us laughing all day long. Our Scottish accents are getting so good that we catch each other saying things like the Scots now. haha. The people here are so insanely nice. Last night we went to our first Scottish pub and afterwards was invited to one of the nicest Hiltons I have ever been to by the professors at Perth College. We then sat around and drank wine while having some of the most interesting conversations. Just learning about their culture here and anything else they talk about is so nice. It's funny to think that not everyone does things the same way as America. But, like I said.... the people are sooo nice!!! Always generous and they have the same humor as everyone on this trip. That always keeps us laughing... I can't tell you how many times my stomach has hurt from laughing so hard and long.

One thing I love here more than the US is their easy - to - understand street signs. It's funny b/c Ally and I were discussing in the van about what they remind us of. It feels like someone took Tonka car street signs and just dropped them right here in Scotland. They are HUGE easy-to-read signs. To make it more funny - the cars here are tiny! I honestly think the biggest family possible would have to be like 2 kids. hahaha. Funny to see the tiny cars against the huge street signs.

Another interesting fact is that NO ONE here has crappy cars. I KID YOU NOT!!!! There is not one junker on the roads. .... well besides our 14 person van... who also happens to be a padiddle. Great.... there are 10 dorky tourist Americans, driving a crappy padiddle van. haha. We don't attract any attention to ourselves.

Well.... that's enough chatter for one day. Thanks for following and I miss you all!!!!

HIGHLAND GAMES ARE TOMORROW!!!!! I AM SO EXTREMELY EXCITED!!!!

- Good day!!

Natalie

P.S. we saw two more kilts today...... in a HARDWARE STORE!!! hahaha. how funny!

Another Sunny Day In Good Ol' Scotland

Hey guys! Early post today. We just got home from out first lab day. It was quite the success. We collected garbage from around the college today and actually finally found stuff. Haha. It is very hard to actually find stuff around here.... very clean. Not much to write about today, it was another relaxing day. Besides cleaning up garbage and sorting it out, we all figured out what our project will be for the next 2 or so weeks. I think I will let that be a surprise. Anyway... I'm pretty sure it would be difficult to explain via blog because most of you always look at me weird when I even explain to you in person.

Instead of intense writing, I am going to try to post some pictures.

Thanks for following!! I miss you all!!!!!

-Natalie

-p.s. i'm going to my first Scottish Pub tonight!!! woooo. I'll drink one for you Juls!!

There's A Midge In My Mouth!!!!

Today was soooo much fun!!! First of all, we got to sleep in today, haha and if you really know me.... you know I love to sleep! Haha. So, half the group went shopping today and the rest of us girls stayed back at the house and hung out. Let me tell you, we spent some great quality time together! - First we wanted to have a rave and so we searched for some good scottish cd's in the house. We were disappointed to find only two cds. One Madonna and The Magnets. Obviously the Madonna cd was a no, b/c that was all too familiar. We put in The Magnets and had A BALL! hahaa. We found a track called "No Matter What" and dressed up and took a video. HILARIOUS! We laughed sooo hard.

http://themagnets.com/

After we sweat our butts off... we decided to try and find the local waterfall. BIG MISTAKE! hahha. we hiked for I don't even know how long.... uphill!! Oh.... and no waterfall was found. haha. But we for sure had a great time laughing, gossiping, and getting lost together.

At night, a bunch of the professors from Perth College came to our place and gave us a huge cookout. It was like Christmas for us.. for real. haha. We have been dining on PB & J sandwiches, so it was a good change. haha. Although, there are these little gnat bugs here called Midges. They are very annoying. haha. That will explain the title of my blog. I said that and we all giggled about it for a good while.

It's about 10:30 here now and of course, like all the other blogs... I'm sleepy. Hope you enjoyed the blog! Miss you all!!! /span>

-i keep asking locals a sweet "goodbye" phrase..... so far there are none. =[

BUMMER!

Goodnight!!

-Natalie

P.s. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIDGET BOHONEK!! I'm sorry I'm not there to tell you in person! Miss ya little Chester! hahaha

<--- one of the pictures I took when we got lost on our way to find the so called waterfall. haha

<-- Coryn, Deanna, and I on the trail to the "waterfall" haha

We Passed A City Named "Athole"!! - Hahahahaha

So today was very eventful. To start off my blog, I would like to say that I accomplished three goals today. First of all, I saw 8 men in kilts today!! YAY!!! hahaha. So, yes everyone, men do still wear kilts. Allltthhhouugghhhh, I found out that kilts are only worn on special occasions. Scottish men wear kilts when american men would normally wear suits. Interesting huh? My second goal I accomplished was for Brad's parents who were interested. They wanted to know if it was a myth that Scottish men do not wear underwear under their kilts. I DID find out the answer..... but don't worry!!! - I DID NOT FIND OUT FIRST HAND! haha. The woman who works at Perth College told me about the tradition of kilts and continued to tell me that indeed, they do NOT wear underwear. Hmmm.. but yes, if you re thinking as I did...... they do not flash anyone when their are strong winds. Haha. The material that it is made out of is very thick and does not flap up easily. That was a weird goal, but I indeed found that out today. My third goal was for my sister, I had to try a local beer. Yes, before you judge.... the drinking age is 18 here. So Julie, I had one for you. - It was delicious! I had it with my traditional fish n chips! (chips = fries, crisps = chips) .. *fun fact! =]

We toured many different beaches/ harbors today and did much traveling today. I am exhausted and I think I will be at blog time for most of this trip. I apologize now if it is not as detailed as you want it to be. =/ Free time is very limited here and when we do get it... we ALL WANT TO SLEEEEEPPPP!!! Haha.

Another fun fact * There is in fact about NO TRASH ON THE BEACHES. haha so we will be taking a trip to the recycling center soon. - for those of you who are just starting to read my blog now .... we are using recycled materials to build art projects. *

Christiana, our college director, did an American accent impersonation today..... apparently we sound like retarded men. Who knew?! hahaa. Great.

She also yelled "What the flip is that?!?" - and we all got a huge kick out of that. We are all going to start using that now. All ten of us are practicing our Scottish accents.... it's coming along quite well.

Well, I KNOW that there is way more to write about but I am so delirious for no sleep right now. I will keep posting but details may be few.... sorry!

Thanks for following and I miss you all!!!

Goodnight from across the ocean,

Natalie

<-- Deanna across the table posing with our fish n chips dinner and our Magner's Cider. Yummm

"Stay On The Left and Watch The Curb!!"

WE MADE IT!!!

Since 8am Scotland time and 3am in Pittsburgh, we have started our journey in Scotland by experiencing many different things, such as dining, towns, and driving. It is now 8:30pm here and we are all exhausted and getting ready for bed. But before we got to this point.... a lot of things happened.

Our first flight was at 2:21pm from Pittsburgh to Newark and our second flight was 8:00pm from Newark to Edinburgh. The first flight was interesting. Although not for others, it was the smallest plane I have ever been on. This caused for a bumpy, not so nice flight. Luckily it was only an hour and forty five minutes. It was my friend Deanna's first time on a plane, ever, and she did very well for being how rough it was. The second flight was much better. It was the biggest plane I've ever been on and I thoroughly enjoyed having my own t.v. screen and being able to chose whatever I wanted to watch. They even had full cd albums that you could listen to. I enjoyed the classical section, hoping to get it to put me to sleep. That failed. I got a total of 35 minutes of sleep. Sooo... I am pretty tired now.

When we arrived at the Edinburgh airport, we got a ride to our van. Seating up to 14 people, it is very spacious and carried our luggage perfectly from the airport to the place we are staying. - Which I originally wasn't sure would be able to happen. Steve, our professor, learned how to drive on the left hand side and also use a stick shift.... on the left hand side as well. That was surely an experience and was helpful to us staying awake on the bus. We are constantly helping him to remind him to always stay on the left and watch the curb!!!! haha.

We got to visit our college that we will be working at today, and it was a pleasant surprise. Their art gallery that we will be working in is very spacious, clean, and different from what we are normally used to. There was art set up still from students attending the college and it was nice to be able to look at their art and respect what they've done. We also did our first day of food shopping today, which in itself was another experience.

Tonight we had spaghetti - made by Deanna and myself. =] Mmmm.

Well, I am exhausted and need to get some rest. I will write more details tomorrow and as for posting pics. . . it takes a long time to upload on off their wifi... so plan to see them in 3 weeks. I'm sorry!!

Thanks for following! Miss you all!!

Good day!

Natalie

Off To Scotland!

Welllll.... TODAY IS THE DAY!

I will write again when I am on the other side of the world!

Have a wonderful day,

Natalie

Last Day in the U.S.

So today was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Well, to explain my picture to the left... my eyes looked like that not too long ago. Tonight I had to say goodbye to my boyfriend to last me through three weeks. Considering that we dated all throughout high school, go to the same college, and live 10 minutes away from each other, I can't even imagine how much I am going to miss him. It was really tough and as soon as I thought I was okay, I let him leave and instantly after he got in the car I had already started to cry again. Although that was sad, the rest of my day was actually very pleasant.

Today I went to my grandma's to celebrate her birthday and talk to her before I leave on my trip. I also made a stop to see my great aunt who has Alzheimer's and gave her a kiss and a hug and told her about my next 3 weeks to come. Seeing both of them was very heartwarming and made my last day special. I also stopped at two graduation parties and wished the girls good luck on their new step in life. My day ended with a fun-filled (sarcastic) last packing of the bags. Oh, and I also had so much fun (sarcastic again) confirming flights, activating my global phone, and activating phone cards. Woo! But all is done and I am officially ready for my trip. I got my earplugs, my music, juicy magazine, and other pertinent things for the flight tomorrow.

Well, I should be off to bed now because tomorrow through Monday is going to be action packed and no sleep! Ahh!! I am anxious to see just how tired I feel.... I'm hoping those adrenaline rushes will kick right in when I need them. Haha. My feelings right now are excited, slightly less nervous, sad, but yet happy all at the same time. Such a whirlwind of emotions, right?? I'm sure I will cry one more time when I say goodbye to my family at the airport. So, I better get some sleep so I can get through my day.

I will hopefully continue to post blogs over in good ol' Scotland so keep reading and thanks for following!!

Goodnight!

Natalie

Aahh!!

So, it's about 2 am on Saturday, June 19 and I wanted to write a quick blog while I was on my computer. I finished packing tonight and I'm feeling somewhat relieved. I am still very nervous about all of the simple things that are different over in Scotland. Such as.... "will my camera, straightener, hair dryer... etc... blow up even with my converter?" & " I really hope I don't press the wrong numbers on my global phone and get charged a $500 conversation" & "do I have too much stuff packed?" & ".. if I do have too much.... what the heck am I going to get rid of?!" & so much more! Aahhh!!! - that is my emotion right now.


Well, like I said - quick blog for now. I am going to get some rest so that I can enjoy my last day in the U.S. tomorrow.

I have yet to find out what they say for goodnight in Scotland, but as soon as I do... I will be sure to use it.

But for now....

Goodnight! - thanks for following! ..... 1 MORE DAY!

-Natalie

Count 'Em Down. . . 2 Days!

Hello! Soooo, to start off I would like to say that this is my very first blogging experience. I am on my way to Scotland in 2 days and considering the amazingly high rates of calling/texting I decided I should invest in at least trying to blog. Yay!

So anyway, it's Friday, June 18, and I started packing yesterday. Yes, I realize I started late, but hey, I am an art major... I procrastinate... it's what we do. We are the creative thinkers of society who keep life interesting... not running smoothly. Leave that job to the boring people. Haha.

More on the trip: I was one of about 20 students (out of all of the IUP campus) to be invited by the professor to join him on a 3 week journey to Scotland. It was then narrowed down to 12 students and now, a final count of 9! I will be joining these other very talented students on a 3 week adventure about Scotland traveling, sight-seeing, and most importantly partaking in a 3 credit art course. This art course will consist of making projects with recycled materials we find in Scotland.

Back at IUP, the college I attend, I experienced this special form of art making in my 3-Dimensional art course. This course was taught by the same wonderful professor who is taking us to Scotland. The class has helped me grow immensely as not only an artist but as a person. He teaches you how to do things you might have once thought impossible and in the process teaches you how to back up your artwork and stand up for what you believe in as an artist. This is something that has helped me so much in my college experiences so far. My personality is somewhat of a pushover and I always like to avoid problems by agreeing with someone else. Although, during my first semester I often found myself arguing with him over my artwork, constantly supporting what I wanted to do artistically. Which, surprisingly he enjoyed to see. I have grown so much throughout my first year of college and almost all of the important and helpful skills I've learned have been through this professor.

Posted above is my completed Recycled Project from my course at IUP.

So to complete my first blog, I would like to express that my feelings at the moment are very nervous, scared, excited, anxious, and many more!! Haha! I am very nervous about the 12 hour flight to Scotland from New York and the first day in a new country. Although, I think once I finish my first day, I will be so excited and happy to be experiencing such an amazing opportunity. =] I would like to mention that I will miss everyone at home - friends, my wonderful boyfriend, and especially my overly supportive family. I could not have gotten this far without the help of all of you and I will think of you everyday. I promise. I also promise to post pictures as soon as I can and try to keep you updated on everything that is going on! One thing that I know will help me keep my nerves down and my spirits high is my most wonderful friend Deanna who will be traveling with me. She is an amazing person and I am so grateful to not only have her in my life but also to accompany me on this memorable journey.

Thank you for following me on my first blogging experience and I hope that you will also follow me on my journey through Scotland. =]

Cheerio!

-Natalie